The Problem With the Day
by Weasley's Revenge
Summary: Isn't that it's too short, or too long. The problem lies in The Day's utter inability to do anything out of order. Consequently every day, like every relationship, follows the same general pattern. JIBBS. Co-Written with Ink On Paper.  ON HIATUS
1. Predawn

**AN: **Co-written by Ink on Paper and me (Weasley's Revenge). Chronicles Jibbs through the times of day starting with Predawn

Predawn

If you were to ask Jethro Gibbs his first impression of one Jennifer Shepard, he would be torn between saying : "Hot" and "smart ass" because she was both. Her first sentence to him was, "Do you prefer Leroy, Jethro, or Leroy Jethro," which she accented with her tantalizing smirk. Of course, he was married at the time which hadn't helped things much, and he was pretty sure Diane would hit him with a golf club if he ever acted on any of the

thoughts she stirred in him.

And if you were to ask Jenny Shepard her first impression of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs, she probably wouldn't respond. Because she really couldn't call her boss a "chauvinist" anymore than she could call him a "bastard"-regardless how well the two words defined this enigma of a man. Of course, she didn't really have much time to figure him out before he offended her (on purpose, she swears), evoking the infamous red-headed temper. "Do you prefer Jenny or Red," A comment that left her boiling, internally debating if she should kiss him or hit him with, say, a nine-iron?

And if you were to ask Diane her first impression of two partners, she would try and kill you (probably with a nine iron) because she saw what was going. And it didn't matter how much Jethro denied her claims. He was getting some somewhere else and she wasn't happy about it. She wondered how Director Morrow could be so stupid as to put a leggy red-head on Jethro's team. And yes, their marriage may have been doomed from the very start, but Jennifer Shepard sure didn't help things.

Of course, Diane was not right about everything, because it is human nature to be flawed. And so she was quite wrong in assuming that Jethro was participating in an extra-marital affair because after all, her distant husband did have a ethical code he adhered to, one of the first five rules happening to clearly state: Do not screw over your partner. And, in some sense, Diane was his partner. But it was his probie that actually understood him more than Diane could even try to. Jenny related to the job, the stress, and the pressures. Jenny kept the same schedule. And long stakeouts happened to be a good time to talk about the nothings that amounted to everything, and he would listen, occasionally adding his few cents. Jenny didn't press when it didn't matter, but she never relented when it did. When she had to save him from himself, or tell him off for being an ass–which was something only few were brave enough to do. And he admired her for it, and eventually respected her because of it.

They were friends before they were lovers because he was married, and she young, and they were too close to the situation to see what was obvious to everyone around them. Except for Director Morrow, who may or may not have been blind or stupid or a little bit of both.

And they were colleagues before they were friends because she was his probie and he was her boss. Because for some unfathomable reason fate had dropped her under his tutelage

Because apparently she either appeased the gods or royally pissed them off –for Jethro Gibbs was both a blessing and a curse.

Because Jethro Gibbs was Jethro Gibbs and Jenny Shepard was Jenny Shepard. And it was that simple. Simply complex and utterly simple.

**AN:** Please leave a review dawn is comeing! :)


	2. Dawn

**AN: **Suffice it to say that updates are going to be erratic. So with no further ado we present you with:

Dawn

There are a lot of firsts in any relationship: the first kiss; the first fight; the first "I love you."

Their first kiss was undercover. And while they were later lauded for such a captivating performance under cover, neither was really acting. Of the course, the other was none the wiser. Jenny merely pretended that her erratic heartbeat was only a result of the stress and adrenaline. Jethro simply pretended that his scattered thoughts were not the result of his partner's proximity. And that Jenny was nothing like Shannon, the temper, the fire, the humor. Totally different, he assured himself, exercising every ounce of self control to keep from taking his and Jenny's masquerade to a more nonfiction occurrence.

Their first real kiss (because there is a difference between a real kiss and one executed while undercover) was on a steamy August night in Marseille, France, and it could have been more ceremonious, and it could have been more romantic, but then it wouldn't have been them.

Their first fight occurred a minute after they met. Calling her 'Red' was not his smartest move, and she had only mustered the restraint to not hit him by giving him a thorough tongue lashing. One that he had willingly reciprocate:

_Their first fight was the foundation of their partnership. "You prefer Jenny or Red?" and she immediately knew this was going to be a long assignment, working under Leroy Jethro. And she immediately wondered what she did to piss off the powers that be and invoke such punishment as having him for a mentor. She was a good girl, smart, tough, brave as the best of them. And here she was being called "Red"? Oh no. Oh no no no._

_"That depends: Do you prefer Leroy, Jethro, or Leroy Jethro." At least she had been granted the ability to form a suitable enough retort, which she could tell from the glint that entered his blue eyes had earned her some twinges of respect from the silver-haired man that was her boss._

_"Gibbs," he grunted, seeming irritated, but she could tell he was actually amused by the fire in her response._

_"Jenny," she asserted._

_"Probie," he countered and her cooling temper flared._

_"What the hell does that mean?"_

_"It's like rookie, Probie," he explained, patronizingly, while grinning superiorly._

_She shrugged moving to investigate her new desk, willing to let this one slide. "Fine," she acquiesced. "You may call me Probie, Jethro." And he knew that it would be a long assignment, working with Jenny._

She could not say, however, when she had fallen in love because it happened slowly and all of a sudden. Like sitting in a swing on the porch watching the sky turn from gray to blue and then suddenly you're confronted with the sun. Blazing in its early-morning glory, and even though it is part of your life you still feel like an outsider. Just a witness to an indefinable miracle. . .

So as they make love on a hot night in a place they barely know and it surprises neither of them. They have both been in love since the moment they met. It just took three years, 4250 miles, and two nights trapped in an attic the size of a refrigerator to realize it.

When it suddenly dawns on them, there is no time for thought only for action. The action of lips moving together and bodies combined in a fluid dance older than France itself.

**AN: **Things I learned while writing chapter two: Writing takes time, I like it back in the day, and natural English speakers can butcher idioms as well. Hopefully midmorning comes a bit faster. Until then please leave a review. :)


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